Development of next generation, full colour displays in consumer electronics will be accelerated by a new agreement between organic light emitting device (OLED) material innovator Covion - the displays business of Avecia – and light emitting polymer (LEP) technology leader CDT (Cambridge Display Technology).

FRANKFURT, Germany (January 17, 2002) - Covion (Frankfurt, Germany) and CDT (Cambridge, UK) today announced a two-part agreement covering technology licensing, and research, development and evaluation of new polymers for LEP applications.

This new agreement builds on an existing materials supply agreement between Covion and CDT and is intended to speed up the development of long lifetime, high efficiency full colour displays in applications such as mobile phones. The overall market for OLED display devices, which includes LEPs, has been forecast to reach US $2.5billion by 2007.

Effective immediately, the agreement:
· Gives Covion licences to CDT's composition of matter and process patents relating to LEPs; and
· Gives CDT access to Covion innovations in polymer materials. Additionally, CDT and Covion will work together on development and testing of new polymer materials.

“This agreement builds on our respective strengths in materials innovation, device design and commercialisation,” said Covion Managing Director Dr. Hermann Schenk. “This will be an important partnership in bringing forward the next generation of OLED displays.”

CDT’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. David Fyfe stated, “As part of its enabling strategy for the LEP display industry, CDT has pursued the licensing of its technology in the field of LEP materials and manufacturing processes to a few dedicated and well-resourced chemical companies. We are very pleased to have reached this additional agreement with Covion and believe that the collaboration will have strong benefit to LEP technology advancement in the future."

Covion and CDT have worked together on polymer materials development since 1995. In March 2001, Covion was contracted to supply materials for CDT research and development and for its US $25million LEP technology development pilot line, opening this month (January 2002), at Godmanchester, near Cambridge, UK.

Early lead applications for LEPs are in mobile phones and other consumer electronics such as PDAs, car radios and digital cameras. Introduction into laptop PC and TV screens are likely future developments as well as displays fabricated on flexible plastic substrates.

Because LEPs emit their own light, they have a higher contrast rate, improved colour quality, faster image response, wider viewing angles, and are lighter weight, thinner and more power-efficient than Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs). By eliminating the backlight, colour filter, polarizer and reducing manufacturing steps used in LCD technology, LEPs are easier to make and could cost less to produce. Furthermore, the unique characteristic for LEPs to be applied in liquid form allow for displays to be ink-jet printed and are likely to result in displays based on flexible plastic substrates and in all-plastic circuits using transistors fabricated by ink jet printing of conducting polymers.

In recognition that these developments will require combinations of skill sets, Covion became a wholly owned subsidiary of Avecia - a world leader in the development of advanced ink-jet printing solutions - in December 2001. A month prior, CDT acquired Litrex, a specialised designer and integrator of ink-jet printing equipment for the electronics industry, including LEP display manufacture.

Notes for Editors:
The OLED market has been forecast to rise from currently less than US $100m. p.a. to US $2.5bn. or more by 2007. OLEDs are additionally expected to gradually penetrate the LCD panel display market - notably in its PC and notebook computer segments -  which is forecast to more than double by 2007, to US $50bn.

Covion is the only company designing, manufacturing and marketing both high performance small molecule and polymer materials for the OLED flat panel display and opto-electronic markets. The company has a strong pipeline of joint development projects with over 25 of the electronics industry’s leading OEMs. The Frankfurt manufacturing facility now has an annual conjugated polymer capacity of 40,000 litres of solution volume.

Covion’s origins date from 1992 - originally in research by Hoechst into polymeric light emitting materials. Covion was created in 1999. Avecia added the 85% equity interest of former joint venture partner Celanese Ventures to its original 15% interest in December 2001.

Avecia is Europe’s largest privately owned specialty chemical company, recording sales in 2000 of £789.6m. and an operating profit of £120m..Web sites: www.covion.com & www.avecia.com